Desperate for a win after dropping their SEC opener the Florida Gators were able to bounce back from a sluggish start and control the last twenty minutes of action over the Georgia Bulldogs on their way to a 92-77 win. From the opening tip both teams seemed a little bit sloppy as they felt the game out, and while it remained close at the half the second frame belonged to the Gators who outscored the Bulldogs 51-37. It still wasn’t the prettiest performance for Florida who had some sloppy turnovers and shot 24% from three (stop me if you’ve heard that one before) but the Gators showed once again that they can not only win a game in the mud but win handily and that’s what they did.
Early Turning Point
Georgia is a team built on speed and that means they are quite undersized up and down the lineup with the exception of Somto Cyril, a 6’11”, 260 pound center who is one of many big, mean centers in the SEC. He started the game having an impact, but after just seven minutes of action, after getting frustrated following a physical battle on the boards with Rueben Chinyelu, threw an elbow that connected with Chinyelu’s jaw. On the review the refs deemed it clearly intentional and with intent to injure, and Cyril was assessed a flagrant 2 foul which took him immediately out of the game. Given how Cyril is the one big body on Georgia, the Bulldogs were extremely undersized the rest of the game and Florida made them pay. The frontcourt was all over the glass finishing with 22 offensive rebounds, and the Gators were able to finish at a much higher clip at the rim than they have so far this season. If there was any chance for Georgia to win this game it was likely they were going to need Cyril, and Florida did well to dominate the interior once he was out.
Executing The Scout
All of Georgia’s early season success has come due to their play in transition and the ability for their guards to go one on one and create shots in the halfcourt. The clear priority for Florida was to keep the Bulldogs out of transition, and once it became a halfcourt game Georgia simply wasn’t able to execute at a high enough level to get quality looks. The Gators also did an excellent job of shutting down Jeremiah Wilkinson, a talented transfer from California who entered Tuesday’s game averaging just under 19 points per game. Florida held him to 2 points on 1-9 shooting, largely due to the tremendous individual defense of Boogie Fland who has provided strong play on the defensive end, something that has likely been lost a bit due to his struggles on offense. Defense remains a priority for the Gators and they were able to execute the gameplan well on Tuesday.
Staying Hot
Once again Thomas Haugh led the way for the Gators, this time piling up 21 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks, and 3 steals to dominate in just about any way possible. On defense he was given a difficult task to chase around Blue Cain, a much smaller 6’5” wing who can navigate off the ball and hunt open threes. Haugh did a good job of limiting the open jumpers with his length, and he even got his hand in the passing lane for some steals when Georgia tried to beat Florida’s pressure with backdoor cuts. Haugh’s athleticism was also on display with his 4 blocks as it seemed he felt free to roam around and opportunistically help at the rim. Offensively he put pressure on the rim with his driving ability, and he even hit a couple of threes to help the Gators on a night where no one (other than him and Urban Klavzar who had a great game going 3-7 from deep) could get things going from deep.
Final Thoughts
On one hand, you could look at Florida’s continued struggles to shoot and their lackluster offense at times and say that they have clear warts, but on the other hand they have shown they can win games while not hitting threes and turning the ball over and that was the case against Georgia. No one watching this game thought the Gators were particularly crisp or executed at an extremely high level, yet they won a league game by 15 points. The defense and rebounding continues to give the Gators a high floor, though they’ll have to figure out how to create and finish more efficiently offensively if they want to look like a team that can go deep in March.